Digital Commons Network^™

Stories Behind The Berlin Wall: Lesson Modules, Nicholas Redmon

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

I have grappled with my primary collection just as scholars and popular authors have with bringing these stories together with political histories. My goal is to create a digital map and analysis on specific themes like education and guard duty from the lives lived behind the Wall and their discourse with the government. I would like to explore how the divide impacted lives in 1961, created a GDR Society, and produced a division still felt in Germany today. The target audience of this project is U.S. students in high school and higher education. Students will be able to access timely …

Professional Development Needs Of Utah State University Extension Professionals, Callahan K. Ward

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many Utah State University (USU) Extension personnel are nearing retirement age. The purpose of this study was to identify professional development needs of Extension professionals and assess USU Extension by evaluating competencies essential to be a successful Extension professional. USU Extension can conduct more beneficial professional development training by using identified high priority competencies and improve the on boarding process for new Extension professionals. With improvements as suggested, the effectiveness of professional development could be enhanced and produce Extension professionals who work more efficiently and are committed to the success of USU Extension.

Does Neighborhood Context Matter? A Multilevel Analysis Of Neighborhood Disadvantage And Sleep Health, Carlyn E. Graham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Childhood is one of the most important stages for physical and cognitive growth during the life course. For young children, sleep is one of the major contributors to healthy development; poor sleep quality and short sleep duration can detrimentally affect developmental progress. In addition to physiological contributors to poor sleep, social factors may affect young children’s sleep. Prior findings suggest that demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, such as race and parent’s educational attainment, may contribute to sleep health for children. Furthermore, limited prior research suggests that neighborhood attributes may affect sleep for both children and adults alike. To my knowledge, no …

From Housewives To Protesters: The Story Of Mormons For The Equal Rights Amendment, Kelli N. Morrill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

On November 17, 1980, twenty Mormon women and one man were arrested on criminal trespassing charges after chaining themselves to the Bellevue, Washington LDS Temple gate. The news media extensively covered the event due to the shocking photos of middle-aged housewives, covered in large chains, holding protest signs and being escorted to police cars. These women were part of the group Mormons for the Equal Rights Amendment (MERA) and were protesting the LDS Church’s opposition to the ERA. The LDS Church actively opposed the ERA and played an important role in influencing the vote in key states leading to its …

Constraints Of Haunted Heritage Tourism In Logan, Utah, Kylie Schroeder

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

It has become common in Salem, Savannah, New Orleans, Edinburg, or Gettysburg, to witness groups of people being led through the darkened streets as part of a ghost tour or haunted history walk. An altered form of commercialized legend tripping, these companies offer guided tours, feature spooky stories, and often showcase local history. However, the trend of haunted heritage tourism, especially in the form of ghost walks and haunted history tours, has spread beyond places with national or international reputations for hauntings and is now growing in small towns whose stories are rarely shared beyond the local populace.

This thesis …

For The Want Of A Horse The Rider Was Lost, Terry A. Messmer

Human–Wildlife Interactions

This is the editors commentary

Anthropogenic Food Subsidy To A Commensal Carnivore: The Value And Supply Of Human Faeces In The Diet Of Free-Ranging Dogs, James R. A. Butler, Wendy Y. Brown, Johan T. Du Toit

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

As the global population of free-ranging domestic dogs grows, there is increasing concern about impacts on human health and wildlife conservation. Effective management of dog populations requires reliable information on their diet, feeding behavior, and social ecology. Free-ranging dogs are reliant on humans, but anthropogenic food subsidies, particularly human faeces (i.e., coprophagy) have not previously been fully quantified. In this study we assess the contributions of different food types to the diet, and their influences on the social behaviour of free-ranging dogs in communal lands of rural Zimbabwe, with a focus on coprophagy. Free-ranging dog diets, body condition, and sociology …

Differentiated Reactions To Payment For Ecosystem Service Programs In The Columbia River Basin: A Qualitative Study Exploring Irrigation District Characteristics As Local Common-Pool Resource Management Institutions In Oregon, Usa, Spencer Thomas Plumb, Travis Paveglio, Kelly West Jones, Brett Alan Miller, Dennis R. Becker

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Student Research

Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) programs are increasingly employed to encourage individual actors to preserve and/or restore environmentally beneficial instream flows in freshwater ecosystems. However, the success of these PES programs has been mixed across geographic locations and the influence of local resource management institutions remains unclear. In the western U.S.A. little is known about the role of irrigation districts regarding these water transactions. This study addresses that deficit by using existing knowledge about common-pool resource management characteristics to explore the role of irrigation districts in PES programs that incentivize water transactions in the state of Oregon. We conducted 20 …

Linear Enamel Hypoplasia And Its Relation To Socioeconomic Class In The 19th Century United States, Amanda Cook

Student Research Symposium

Linear hypoplasia of the dental enamel has long been used as an indicator of physical stress during the tooth year of formation. Enamel hypoplasia present in adult teeth can indicate that the individual experienced growth disturbances during childhood to late adolescence. Through the use of human remains of known origin, age, sex, and socioeconomic background, one can compare childhood stressors according to difference of demographic grouping. This study examines the frequencies of growth disruptions among ethnic and socioeconomic groups of the United States throughout the 20th century. If there are differences in frequencies, do we see this difference increase or …

Women's Rights As A Key To Climate Change Mitigation, Mckelle Hansen

Student Research Symposium

Gender-related studies of climate change have revealed a higher vulnerability of women to climate-related environmental risks. Current research suggests in the developing world where impacts of climate change will be most felt, women specifically will be most negatively impacted due to gendered divisions of labor and reliance on natural resources. While the impacts of climate change will eventually influence all people, the impacts will fall unequally along the lines of gender, class, and race. This study aims to explore whether or not the global advancement of women’s rights is a critical factor in mitigating the detrimental impacts of climate change. …

Blocking While Black: An Examination Of Racial Disparity On Holding Penalties In The Nfl, Dylan Leiker

Student Research Symposium

Race relations in the United States have received considerable media attention recently. Media coverage of discriminatory police violence against minorities and subsequent protest against these actions are an almost daily occurrence. Moreover, starting with Colin Kaepernick, many National Football League players have taken a knee during the National Anthem in protest of racial discrimination and violence by law enforcement against minorities. This action has generated considerable controversy. For example, President Donald Trump tweeted this past season, “The NFL has decided that it will not force players to stand for the playing of our National Anthem. Total disrespect for our great …

Career Aspirations In Conservative Culture, Rachael Gulbrandsen, Mary Briggs-Ott

Student Research Symposium

Observed gender differences in career attainment lead many observers to conclude that women and men differ in terms of career and family aspirations. Yet recent national data suggest that career and family-based attitudinal differences between men and women are shrinking, particularly among younger generations. This study asks whether men and women nearing college graduation hold different career goals, and whether these differences change over time as graduates form families and enter careers. We focus our analysis on Utah, a culturally conservative state that ranks last in terms of women’s professional advancement. By analyzing and tracking gender differences in career goals, …

Resistances For Water Transfer Projects As Double Movement, Elham Hoominfar

Student Research Symposium

Environmental movements are growing in different pArts of the world as a result of environmental degradation, growing natural hazards, and the vulnerability of local people. Within the context of political ecology, environmental movements center on the unequal distribution of power in control of the environment and access to natural resources (Robbins, 2012).Modern environmental movements have been emerging since the 1970s (Lee, Afiff and Rachman, 2008). Robins (2004) asserts that beginning in the 1970s, the environment has become a highly politicized objective. In this comparative research, this researcher seeks to understand the nature and reasons for forming these environmental movements in …

Chilly Climate? Findings From The 2016 Stem Graduate Student Survey At Usu, Ace Beorchia

Student Research Symposium

Using data from a 2016 STEM Graduate Student Climate Survey from Utah State University (USU), we investigate the cultural climate for women, racial/ethnic minority, LGBTQ, and non-LDS graduate students in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) at USU. Our findings reveal that these students are more likely to experience bias, harassment, or discrimination at USU than other students. Prior research in this area has largely focused on institutional barriers impeding faculty from underrepresented groups from reaching tenured and leadership positions in STEM. This study fills a gap in current knowledge by examining the effect that this lack of representation may …

Reinventing The Prison Yard: Creating Healthier Prisons Through Landscape Architecture And Sociology, Jonathan Young

Student Research Symposium

Many Americans have seen pictures of so-called ‘luxury’ prisons in places like Norway and Finland, and for those who have grown up knowing the harsh American prison system, the Scandinavian prisons seem to be almost rewarding criminals. However, in some areas in the United States rehabilitative prison systems are gaining popularity over a purely incapacitative system, and American researchers have turned to the Scandinavian experiments with increased interest to see what we can learn and apply from them. While this has led to interesting research in sociological, criminological, and even architectural fields, the role of landscape architecture in prisons has …

Sex Work Is Work, Erica Limon

Student Research Symposium

This article will define the context in which sex work is referred to along with the different types of sex work including: prostitution, dancing, and the pornography industry. Sex work has had its place in American Society for centuries. Constantly going through the rollercoaster ride of the negative stigmatization surrounding this work, sex work has remained functional and adaptable throughout generations. The history of sex work along with a sociological explanation of the rise and fall of the “golden age” of sex work is presented. An analysis of sex work displays the various categories under prostitution, dancing, and pornography. Through …

Rise Of The Kkk: Political Rhetoric Of The 1920s Ku Klux Klan In The West, Justine Larsen

Student Research Symposium

This research will review the historic fluctuations of white nationalism, especially the racially motivated terrorist group the Ku Klux Klan, in relation to macroeconomic troughs and peaks of income inequality. This research specifically looks at trends in income inequality in the Northwest and compares the findings to data on white supremacist activity in Utah, Idaho, and Oregon. Using KKK records from the Utah, Idaho, and Oregon state archives this project uncovers three main messages evident in each resurgence period of the KKK: race, disparity between rural and urban spaces, and American nationalism. These three subtopics are explored within each revival …

Stocks Or Stakeholders: Nonhuman Animals In Natural Resource Sociology, Michael Briscoe

Student Research Symposium

Human values and meanings for nonhuman animals are socially constructed. Nonhuman animals provide value through tangible means, such as food or economic value, but they also are valued for providing experiences, symbols, and ecosystem services like diversity. Nonhuman animals are afforded certain rights and considerations in modern society, but these have proved insufficient in ensuring positive outcomes for both social and ecological systems. Considering nonhuman animals as stakeholders could improve natural resource outcomes by more fully addressing transboundary and uncertainty issues.

Educational Policies Committee Agenda, April 5, 2018, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Curriculum Subcommittee
• Academic Standards Subcommittee
• General Education Subcommittee

Educational Policies Committee Program Proposal, College Of Humanities And Social Sciences, March 30, 2018 - Interfaith Leadership Certificate, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Utah State University's Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences requests an Interfaith Leadership Certificate.

Educational Policies Committee Program Proposal, College Of Humanities And Social Sciences, March 30, 2018 - Minor In Social Work, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Utah State University's Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences requests a Minor in Social Work.

General Education Subcommittee Minutes, March 20, 2018, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Course Approvals/Removals/Syllabi Approvals

Business

• Depth Courses and Categorization of Majors
• Departments submitting General Education proposals from outside of their General Education categorization
• Curriculog shutdown

Book Review: Race And Upward Mobility: Seeking, Gatekeeping, And Other Class Strategies In Postwar America, Marisela Martinez-Cola

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

From the Talented Tenth to Tio Tacos, the language of race and upward mobility has always been complicated, particularly for Black and Brown communities in the United States. As I began to read Román’s engaging book about how race and upward mobility are depicted in novels, plays, films, and TV sitcoms (hereinafter “cultural texts”), the theme song from The Jeffersons kept ringing in my head as well as George Lopez’s observation of how Mexican Americans respond to successful family members. This may have been her intent as she begins her book by comparing George Jefferson and George Lopez. The comparison …

State Immigration Policies: The Role Of State Compacts And Interest Groups On Immigration Legislation, Erin Trouth Hofmann, Paul D. Jacobs, Peggy Petrzelka

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

US states are active in enacting immigration policies, which vary widely and have substantial impact on the lives of immigrants. Our understanding of what produces these divergent state laws remains limited. Qualitative research demonstrates the importance of a 2010 immigration compact, supported by a powerful religious organization, in shaping immigration policies in Utah, and the Utah Compact was held up as a model for other states. But is the experience of Utah applicable across other states? We test the effects of compacts and interest groups on immigration policy adoption across all 50 states between 2005 and 2013. Our findings suggest …

What Makes Super‐Aged Nations Happier? Exploring Critical Factors Of Happiness Among Middle‐Aged Men And Women In Japan, Yoko Moriyama, Nanako Tamiya, Nobuyuki Kawachi, Maya Miyairi

Kinesiology and Health Science Faculty Publications

This study aimed to examine multiple factors associated with happiness from the perspective of gender difference among a middle‐aged Japanese population. A total of 865 participants (male = 344, female = 521) aged 40–64 years were divided into two groups (high and low) by their self‐reported level of happiness. Logistic regression analysis by gender was carried out. In men, high levels of happiness were significantly correlated with living with spouse, occupation, enough sleep, leading a normal life, and regular checkups; while low levels of happiness were significantly correlated with smoking and having two or more diseases. In women, low levels …

Be[Com]Ing A Teacher In Neoliberal Times: Visioning As Resistance In Teacher Education, May Hara, Kortney Sherbine

Teacher Education and Leadership Faculty Publications

Teacher education is under assault from the corporatization of public education. There is evidence that reductive, essentialized/ing discourses of standardization and compliance exert intense pressures on teacher education, and a market-based, audit culture constricts conceptions of the “good teacher”. Despite the pervasiveness of neoliberal discourses, little is known about how student teachers experience increased corporatization in education, or about how they act rather than are acted upon in this context. In examining these dynamics, we explore the following research questions: (a) How do student teachers make sense of neoliberal discourses in teaching? (b) How do student teachers experience the process …

Stormwater Management And Ecosystem Services: A Review, Liana Prudencio, Sarah E. Null

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Researchers and water managers have turned to green stormwater infrastructure, such as bioswales, retention basins, wetlands, rain gardens, and urban green spaces to reduce flooding, augment surface water supplies, recharge groundwater, and improve water quality. It is increasingly clear that green stormwater infrastructure not only controls stormwater volume and timing, but also promotes ecosystem services, which are the benefits that ecosystems provide to humans. Yet there has been little synthesis focused on understanding how green stormwater management affects ecosystem services. The objectives of this paper are to review and synthesize published literature on ecosystem services and green stormwater infrastructure and …

Walking (And Cycling) To Well-Being: Modal And Other Determinants Of Subjective Well-Being During The Commute, Patrick A. Singleton

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Although transportation’s impacts on physical health are relatively well-established, the relationship between transportation and subjective well-being (SWB) has been the subject of recent focus. Policymakers attempt to improve the health and well-being of populations through interventions to improve transportation experiences and promote sustainable transport modes, while researchers studying these connections seek valid and reliable measures of SWB in the travel domain. Studies consistently find travel by walking and bicycling to be rated more positively than automobile travel, yet many use single measures of travel SWB, obscuring nuanced variations between modes.

Using the results of a Portland, Oregon, survey of nearly …

Revisiting Who, When And Why Stakeholders Matter: Trust And Stakeholder Connectedness, Bret Crane

Management Faculty Publications

With limited resources and attention, managers have sought ways to categorize and prioritize stakeholders. The underlying assumption is that some stakeholders matter more than others. However, in the information age, stakeholders are increasingly interconnected, where a firm’s actions toward one stakeholder are visible to others and can impact members of the stakeholder ecosystem. Actions by a firm toward any of its stakeholders can signal its trustworthiness and determine to what degree other stakeholders will assume vulnerability and engage in future exchange relationships. In this conceptual article, I present a model of stakeholder connectedness and describe the conditions in which a …

Biodiverse Cities: The Nursery Industry, Homeowners, And Neighborhood Differences Drive Urban Tree Composition, Meghan L. Avolio, Diane E. Pataki, Tara L. E. Trammell, Joanna Endter-Wada

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

In arid and semiarid regions, where few if any trees are native, city trees are largely human planted. Societal factors such as resident preferences for tree traits, nursery offerings, and neighborhood characteristics are potentially key drivers of urban tree community composition and diversity, however, they remain critically understudied. We investigated patterns of urban tree structure in residential neighborhoods of the Salt Lake Valley, Utah, combining biological variables, such as neighborhood and plant nursery tree species and trait composition, and sociological data comprised of resident surveys and U.S. Census data. We sampled nine neighborhoods that varied in household income and age …